Note that these advantages may or may not actually translate into actual and long-term business success.
Like always, being the first-mover only makes sense if the rewards justify
the risks. Some industries reward first-movers with near-monopoly status and
high margins. Other industries don't, allowing late-movers the chance to compete
more effectively and efficiently against early entrants.

The main benefits associated with being second or third in a market are:

Reducing or avoiding development and testing costs.

Learning from pricing mistakes of the first mover.

Lower risk exposure.

DYNAMICS OF NEW PRODUCT INTRODUCTION STRATEGIES:

Lee, et al (2000) found that indeed moving timing and moving order are key factors in the dynamics of new product introduction:

MOVING TIMING or the time which transpired between the date of introduction of a new product and the date of each imitation has the following implication: the faster and earlier a firm introduces a new product, the greater the shareholder wealth effect. So being a pioneer in a market brings great benefits.

MOVE ORDER or the moving in the rank position of the new product with the introduction of every imitation hides the possibility for other firms to limit or even completely erode the benefits, which a first mover hopes to enjoy, due to the sum effect of early and late imitation.

Also there is a need to recognize that first-mover status is not
an end in itself, but rather the beginning of a longer and much more complex
strategy in which the initial advantage has to be defended against competitors
and imitators.